It Started with a Kiss
by emeraldb1976
Summary: James loves Lily, Lily doesn't like James, they are head boy and girl at Hogwarts but what happens when James surprises Lily and kisses her. Rated M for sexual content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

"Prongs, you know I hate to say it, but it's just not gonna happen," Sirius Black said to his best friend James Potter, as he watched him yet again gazing at the red haired girl a few seats away at the Gryffindor table.

"You're wrong Padfoot, I think I'm starting to get somewhere, watch this." At that James leaned past Sirius and yelled, "Evans, go out with me? You know you want to!"

xxxxxx

Lily Evans was having breakfast in the Great Hall and talking to her friend Samantha Ryder

"Lils, James is staring at you again," said Samantha, helping herself to a piece of toast.

Lily huffed. When was he going to get the picture?

"You know, you could just give him a chance, you might even find you like him." But from the horrified look Lily gave her, Sam sighed. Together with Sirius, she'd been trying to get Lily and James together for months. It was clear to everyone who knew them it was meant to be, so why couldn't Lily see it?

Just then a shout came their way "Evans, go out with me? You know you want to!"

Lily picked up her bag. "Come on Sam, we'd better get to Potions." And with that walked out of the Great Hall. Samantha glanced back at Sirius and shrugged before hurrying after Lily.

xxxxxx

"She doesn't shout at me anymore, Padfoot," James said, grinning and gave Sirius a small wink.

"Prongs," muttered Sirius, "she ignored you, how is that getting somewhere?"

Lily sat at her desk in her room off the Heads Common Room. Having started her seventh and final year at Hogwarts only one week ago she was already behind in her work. She'd been so happy to be chosen as Head Girl, but it had all gone horribly wrong when she found out who was to be Head Boy. James Potter. He was the one person in her year she had been trying to avoid and now she was stuck sharing the Heads Tower with him. Although she had managed to stay out of his way for the most part, Lily found that thoughts of James had been invading her mind since coming back to School, and this was why she was behind only a week into the term.

Deciding that the best course of action would be to ignore James completely, not talk to him, look at him, not even think about him, had been the easy part. Actually doing it, however, was another matter. She had found herself sneaking glances at James whenever she could and was sure he'd noticed somehow, but what bothered her most was that she didn't know why she was feeling like this. James was a trouble maker, everyone knew what his gang were like. Always in detention, never taking anything seriously, showing off to anything in a skirt; this just wasn't what she needed right now.

Glancing down at the parchment on her desk, the Ttransfiguration essay she had been working on was only half finished, but she gave it up as a bad job and sighed. She needed to get out of here and get some air but she could hear James with Sirius, Remus and Peter outside her door in the heads common room and just couldn't face them. She would just have to wait until they left and James went to bed. But almost as soon as she thought that, she heard the door to the common room swing shut, then silence. Relief swept over her. They'd gone.

She opened the door to her room and started quietly towards the portrait hole.

"Lily." The voice, even as softly as it spoke made her jump. She spun around. James was walking slowly towards her and she backed away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said as he continued moving nearer. Lily took one more step back only to find herself hit the wall. There was no where else to go, and James was now right in front of her, staring into her eyes. Her heart started to pound in her chest; surely he must hear it. He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Suddenly his lips were on hers, she struggled to pull away but he pushed her back against the wall.

Her mind went blissfully blank as she began to relax and found herself kissing him back, she parted her lips and felt James' tongue slip inside her mouth and gently massage hers.

James moved his hands to her waist and pulled her closer, but her mind cleared and she pushed him away. "Don't do this," she whispered. He stared at her, hurt evident in his face. Her eyes filled with tears and she ran from the common room, leaving James calling after her.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N This is JKR's world, I'm just playing in it.

Chapter 2

Lily had put two floors between her and the heads common room before she stopped running.

'_What just happened,'_ she thought.

'_James kissed me.'_

'I kissed him back.'

'_How dare he assume I wanted to kiss him.'_

'He was right though.'

An argument had been raging in her head from the moment she'd left the room.

'Ugh. I don't need this.'

'Maybe this is exactly what you need.'

'_But I don't have feelings for him. I don't even like him.'_

'Your heart was pounding when he kissed you.'

'_That doesn't mean anything.'_

'_Yes it does.'_

'_Ok. Calm down, think about this, do I have feelings for James?'_

Looking at the floor, a small voice deep within answered, '_yes'_.

xxxxxx

James was sitting on the big comfy red sofa in the common room, with his head in his hands.

'What have I done, she hates me now.'

'He hated you anyway.'

'_She kissed me back though.'_

'She couldn't wait to get away from you.'

'_I've blown it.'_

'You're right there.'

Lying down on the sofa, James decided he would just have to wait for her to come back, then he could tell her it was a mistake and he didn't mean it. He had to clear the air with her and he would wait up all night if he had to.

Over an hour later the common room door opened, James sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Lily?"

"James," she replied.

She shut the door behind her, and moved to sit next to him. An awkward silence followed.

"I'm sorry." They both started at the same time.

"I shouldn't have kissed you," James said.

"I shouldn't have run off."

"You had every right to. I'm so sorry Lily, I don't know what happened, you just came out of your room, you looked so ….. so beautiful." James looked down at the floor. "Then the next thing I knew I was kissing you."

"James," she interrupted.

"Please Lily, let me say this," he said, looking back up at her. "I've done a lot of thinking since you ran out of here. I really like you, I've been asking you out since fifth year and I don't think I'll ever be able to give up on you completely, but I think it's best if we can forget what happened tonight and maybe try and be friends." He thought he saw Lily's face fall slightly when he said that. "We are sharing a common room, it would be great if we could try to get along. I'll even stop asking you out, for now at least."

Lily smiled shyly, then her words came tumbling out before she could stop them, "I 'd like to go out with you James. I didn't realise it until this evening, but I really like you too and I would like it if we became more than friends."

James lips curled upwards into a wide grin, he reached out and took Lily's hands, then leaned in and kissed her. "I'd like to keep this between us for now, I've waited a long time for you and I don't want anything to ruin it, and you know what Sirius can be like. I just think it would be better if we kept it private. Would that be ok with you?"

Lily giggled. "I agree, it will be fun sneaking around and pretending to our friends that we still don't get on." Lily leaned into James' arms and they sat like that just enjoying each others company, until Lily gave James a kiss goodnight and they went to their separate rooms to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lily walked into the Great Hall the next morning feeling a little nervous and ready to try out her acting skills. She and James had to continue as if last night hadn't happened if they were to fool their friends.

She approached Sam, who was speaking to Sirius and Remus, "morning" she said as she sat down beside her, the boys moved away to sit further down the table "what did they want?" Lily asked.

"Oh er nothing, did you catch up on your work last night?" Sam asked changing the subject

Lily grinned, "I got up early this morning and finished it off" Sam looked pleased, she'd noticed the stress on Lily's face over the last week and it was good to see Lily smiling again.

"Don't look now, but here comes your favourite person" Sam whispered to Lily pointing at James who had just walked in and was heading up the isle towards the other Marauders.

"He's not my favourite person" she snapped, she met his eyes briefly as he passed and she blushed

"Really? I had no idea," replied Sam, her voice dripping with sarcasm

xxxx

James walked into the Great Hall and headed to meet Sirius, Remus and Peter for breakfast, he looked at Lily on his way passed and she blushed, he couldn't wait until later when they would be on their own together, but for now he would pretend nothing had changed.

Sirius looked excited about something and as James sat down he found out exactly what. "You are gonna love me, Prongsie" he said, winking and nudging James gently in the ribs

James looked apprehensive "what have you done? He asked warily

"I have just got us a date with Sam and Lily for the Hogsmeade trip next Saturday" Sirius leaned back in his chair, with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

James was a bit taken back by this news, surely Lily hadn't told everyone they were together, he frowned "Lily has agreed to go on a date with me?" he asked uncertainly.

"Not exactly, I asked Sam to come with me and I kind of suggested that I bring you and she bring Lily, I don't think she is planning to tell Lily about it, but hey, who cares, once we are all in Hogsmeade, I'll drag Sam away and leave you two alone, so you can work your magic on her" Sirius was obviously very pleased with himself.

James' frown turned into a huge smile, having thought he and Lily wouldn't be able to spend the Hogsmeade trip together as they were pretending there was nothing between them, he'd not been looking forward to it, but Sirius had unknowingly created a great opportunity for them to have the afternoon alone together without causing any suspicion from their friends. It was going to be a good day.

xxxx

Herbology was Lily's last lesson of the day and as soon as it finished she headed straight to the heads common room, her and James hadn't spoken all day and she was eager to see him, as she walked down the fourth floor corridor, a door opened to her left and an arm reached out and pulled her into an empty classroom. She dropped her books in surprise but they lay forgotten on the floor as she realised who had grabbed her.

"I thought I'd never get you alone" He whispered before kissing her passionately.

"How did you know it was me?" she managed to say between kisses

"Lucky guess" he replied cheekily, he tilted her chin up and kissed her again, she pulled him closer feeling she belonged right here in his arms and wishing they could just stay like this forever.

xxxx

The sun shone brightly on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, it was a crisp autumn day. Lily and Sam headed down to the entrance hall. As they approached, Lily noticed Sirius and James waiting by the door and watching them come down the stairs.

"Great!" Lily said, "What are they doing here?" she asked Sam, secretly enjoying keeping up the act of hating James

Sam looked nervous, "er, did I not tell you, Sirius asked me to go into Hogsmeade with him and I kind of said yes" she said uncertainly

"I know you have a bit of a thing for Sirius, even if I don't understand it, but why is James with him and why did you bring me along, surely it should just be the two of you if it's a date?" Lily said angrily

"Well, Remus was going with Melody, you know, that Ravenclaw girl in our Defence class, Peter has detention today so Sirius asked if he could bring James along as he'd be on his own, he suggested I bring you too so we could go as a four, oh please Lils, do it for me" Sam pleaded

Lily turned her nose up, Sirius was the biggest flirt of all the Marauders and Sam was bound to get hurt by him, but her friend clearly liked him and maybe she would get to spend a bit of time alone with James while they were out, "OK" she said to Sam "I'll come"

After having their names ticked off the list in Filch's hand, they started the walk down into the village, Sam and Sirius walked side by side and James and Lily fell into step behind them. Lily turned to James and gave him a cheeky wink and he grinned back at her.

Sirius wanted to go to Zonko's and Lily needed a new quill so after having a long look around the shops they headed to the Three Broomsticks, ordered four foaming mugs of Butterbeer and sat down at a table by the fireplace.

They chatted easily for a while until Sirius turned to Lily and said "Hey Lils, after we've finished our drinks, I'm gonna take Sam for lunch and a bit of alone time, only for a few hours, you don't mind do you? You can keep James company and we'll meet you outside Honeydukes at 4 to head back."

Lily tutted in reply and slouched back in her chair with her arms crossed but didn't object. Sirius took that as his cue to leave and drained his mug, stood and held his arm out to Sam "care to join me" he asked her. Sam giggled and linked her arm through his, looking back at Lily she mouthed "sorry" and left the pub with Sirius.

"I'm impressed" James turned towards Lily, "you should be an actress! Come on lets get out of here" he said, and they too left the pub.

Once they were away from the main hustle and bustle of the High Street James took Lily's hand "we've got 3 hours until we have to meet the others and I know just the place for us to go" he started running further towards the edge of the village pulling Lily along with him, both were out of breath when they stopped and Lily looked at where James was taking her.

"the Shrieking Shack" she gasped "I'm not going in there, it's the most haunted building in Britain" she tried pull free of James' hand and back away but he held her tightly.

"you shouldn't believe everything you hear sweet Lily" he said as he pulled her closer to the entrance. Something about the way he was talking made Lily think he knew something about this place that she didn't.

"er, I'm not sure about this James" she was breathing hard and looking fearful.

James stopped and faced her, "do you trust me?" he asked

"yes, but…." She looked from James to the shack and back to James

"I would never do anything to hurt you, I've been in there lots of times, its not haunted" he gave her a small kiss and held out his hand "Coming?"

Lily nodded and took his hand, feeling nervous but excited, they entered the Shrieking Shack.

"wow, look at this place" Lily said as she stared around in amazement, there were a few pieces of furniture but all were covered in scratches and rips, animal footprints were all that disturbed the dust and the floor boards creaked as they moved further inside but Lily didn't feel scared anymore, there was something unusual going on in here but seeing how relaxed James was had put her at ease.

James showed her around the whole shack until there was only one room left to see, this room was different from the others, there was a squishy sofa and a little table, and some candles around the walls. Though the sofa was still old, there were no rips and this room was almost free of dust.

James closed the door behind them and lit the candles with his wand "the Marauders have explored every part of the castle and we found a secret passage that leads straight here, we've been visiting this shack about once a month for the last couple of years" James explained

Lily smiled, going out with James was going to be a lot of fun. She leaned closer and her lips touched his as he circled his arms around her waist pulling her to him.

She ran her hands up his back and into his hair, it was messy as usual but felt good through her fingers. James kissed her neck, it tickled and she giggled, then his hands slid beneath her shirt and up her back.

"do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" he whispered as he nibbled her ear gently

"I have an inkling" she replied cheekily as she felt his hardness against her. James slid his hands around to her front and up towards her lace bra, he ran his thumb over her protruding nipple and she threw her head back and moaned, she pulled him closer and his erection pushed hard against her.

Slipping his hand round to her back he reached the clasp of her bra, but just as he went to undo it, she pulled away

"I'm sorry James" she said quietly "I'm not ready, this is going a bit fast for me"

He managed to hide the disappointment in his face "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you, it's too soon, that's OK, we can wait until you're ready"

"thank you" she said as she straightened out her clothes "maybe we should head back to meet the others"

James kissed her lightly "when it comes to you, I would wait forever" he said as they left the Shrieking Shack and walked back to Honeydukes.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N This is JKR's world, I'm just playing in it.

Chapter 4

Sirius and Sam had only started dating as a way of getting Lily and James to spend more time with each other in the hope Lily would eventually give James a chance. What had started out as a platonic relationship between them was now anything but.

Sam had always held a torch for Sirius but knowing what he was like had never done anything about it before, now it seemed she was the one to tame him. Their relationship had progressed quickly and now as Christmas was fast approaching they were almost inseparable.

Lily had notice her friend change and how Sam's eyes now lit up when Sirius walked in the room, they make a nice couple, she thought, both with dark hair, both tall, although Sirius was slightly taller than Sam. Lily watched Sirius talking to James across the Gryffindor common room and saw a sixth year girl approach him, whisper in his ear and put her hand on his shoulder, Sirius smiled, said something to the girl, but took her hand, removed it from his shoulder and turned back to James. Something has changed in Sirius too, she thought, he wasn't normally one to turn away attention from a girl.

Looking over at James, Lily felt a slight flutter in her stomach, they'd been together for just over three months now and since that day in the Shrieking Shack, James hadn't pushed her to go any further with him. They'd spent a lot of time kissing and exploring each other through their clothes but now Lily wanted more. James was being a real gentleman so she knew if she wanted their relationship to move forward she would have to take the lead, at least until he got the message that she was ready.

Most evenings Lily told Sam she was going back to her room to study and it was never long before James turned up too, having told his friends he was working on getting Lily to go out with him, they all knew how crazy he was about her and never questioned it. No one had noticed any change in either of them. She planned to go up a bit earlier tonight and hoped James wouldn't be far behind.

Deciding that she needed a bit of advice before taking things further, but still not wanting to give the game away about her and James she asked Sam about her first time with Sirius.

"It was er different" Sam said, "it hurt a little bit, but once the pain eased off, it was kinda nice" Sam's expression changed as she smiled at the memory, "I mean, it wasn't brilliant but it gets better with practice. A lot better." Sam suddenly frowned at Lily "Why do you ask? Is there someone you've got your eye on?"

"No" Lily replied a bit too quickly, "just curious, I was wondering what it's like, that's all"

"I wish you would just go on a date with James, from what Sirius tells me, he is really into you, and he's not as arrogant as you seem to think he is" Sam told her.

Lily felt that familiar jolt in her stomach at the mention of James "maybe I will one day" she replied "but not yet, I've got too much work to do, I better get back to my room and get on with tonight's homework" she said as she stood up and walked to the portrait hole "see you tomorrow".

xxxx

James was sitting by the window with the other Marauders as he saw Lily get up and leave the common room, he waited ten more minutes before telling them he had better get going and headed off himself.

As he entered the heads common room, he saw Lily sitting on the sofa, books piled up on the table in front of her and she looked up.

"Didn't take you long to follow me, that's the quickest yet" Lily said

"Ten minutes was long enough I think, but maybe I've aroused suspicion" James looked slightly worried.

"As long as that's not all that's aroused," Lily said cheekily as her eyes flickered from his face to below his waist.

James grinned, there was a naughty glint in his eye "believe me, it's not, but the question is, what are we going to do about it?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can think of something" Lily stood and moved over to James, kissing him lightly on the lips.

She kissed his cheek then moved to his ear and bit gently on his lobe, this made him shiver slightly, he wanted to touch her and feel her skin against his but he didn't want to push her.

He felt her hand slip underneath the front of his shirt and her fingers walked slowing up his chest brushing his nipple as they past, her other hand had started to unbutton his shirt. James held his breath, maybe she wanted to go further.

He pulled her closer and kissed her, their tongues dancing as they explored each other's mouths. She loosened his tie and pulled it over his head breaking their kiss for a moment, his shirt now fully open, her hands hungrily stroking his toned chest and stomach.

She pulled back and started to unbutton her blouse, she then took his hands and brought them up to her breasts, looking into his eyes she said "I want you to touch me James" she let her blouse fall to the floor and unclasped her lilac bra. He slid the shoulder straps down and her bra joined her blouse on the floor. He swallowed, he was trembling just at the sight of her. He moved his hands back to her breasts and squeezed gently, rubbing his fingers over her pert nipples, she gave a soft moan.

She took his hand, "come with me" she whispered and she lead him towards her bedroom. He felt nervous suddenly, this was Lily Evans, the girl of his dreams and if he was reading the looks in her face right, she was ready and they were about to make love. It was time he took control.

xxxx

Closing the door behind them, James picked Lily up and carried her to the bed, sitting her on the edge, he stood over her and leaned in for a kiss. Lily fumbled with the fastenings on his trousers and eased them over his bum and down to the floor, he stepped out of them and kicked them to the side.

James laid her back, removed her skirt and then her knickers, finally ridding himself of his boxers. He climbed up onto the bed next to her and placed a trail of kisses down her body, then ran his tongue over a nipple and sucked on it gently before moving to the other to do the same, it sent shivers down her spine and she arched her back.

He pushed her legs apart and moved between them, positioning himself over her "are you sure?" he asked.

She nodded "I'm sure" she felt his tip press lightly at her centre, she wanted to feel him inside her "please James" she urged. He pushed forward and she gasped at the burning pain as he entered her.

He kissed her cheek "stay still, the pain will ease off" he reassured her.

She took several deep breaths and as she relaxed the pain died away, she moved her hips to encourage James to continue. He pulled back slightly and pushed in again, going slightly deeper with each thrust until she had taken his full length. She moved with him and they soon found a rhythm, she moaned, this was far better than she imagined.

James took one of her nipples in his mouth and flicked his tongue over it, while his thumb rubbed the other, his thrusts became faster, she ran her hands down his back and grabbed his bum, pushing him further inside her, then wave after wave of pleasure made her cry out as she came.

Feeling her muscles tensing was enough to send James over the edge too and he shuddered before collapsing on top of her, both breathing hard.

He pulled out and moved to lie beside her, taking her into his arms, she smiled "I love you James" she said.

"I love you too Lily".


	5. Chapter 5

A/N This is JKR's world, I'm just playing in it. This is the final chapter of this story, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I loved reading your comments. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

The following day, just after Charms, Lily and Sam headed to the Great Hall for dinner. Sam noticed something different about Lily.

"What's going on with you today" she asked "you've had that silly grin on your face since this morning"

"I'm just in a good mood that's all, nothing's going on" Lily replied still smiling.

Sam narrowed her eyes, "Come on, who is he? You've got that _'just had sex' _look about you".

Lily choked, "what! That's just ridiculous, who would I have had sex with, I'm not the kind of girl who'd just jump into bed with anyone you know" how can she tell, she thought.

"I know you're not Lils, I'm just saying there is something different about you today, that's all, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it"

Lily smiled to herself, her and James had talked about letting their friends know about their relationship soon, but it wouldn't hurt to keep it quiet a little longer and see if they can figure it out for themselves.

xxxxxx

Over the Christmas holidays James and Lily took every opportunity to sneak off and be alone, and on the Saturday afternoon before the new term started they both skipped lunch in the Great Hall in favour of something more intimate.

James and Lily made their way to James' room, relieving each other of their clothes on the way and leaving them scattered over the floor of their common room in the haste to get to the bed.

They made love urgently, full of passion and the need to be close to each other. They were both fast approaching climax, Lily cried out "James" as another voice sounded in the room.

"Whoa, what have we here Prongs" Sirius said grinning and leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

James was not impressed "get lost Padfoot," he said, "can't you see I'm busy" neither he nor Lily had heard the door open.

From where Sirius was standing he couldn't see who James was with and James kept it that way by making sure Lily was blocked from view. "Aren't you gonna tell me who your little lady friend is" he asked swinging Lily's pink bra around his finger "only by the look of this, I'd say she's hot! And you better not let Lily catch you bringing girls back here, the head girl would not approve."

"Well Lily doesn't need to know, she's in the library. I swear if you don't get out of here Padfoot, I'll…"

"Alright, alright, i'm going, have fun" he said with a wink "use protection" he backed out the room and shut the door just as a pillow came flying towards him.

When Lily and James heard the common room door shut they both broke out in a fit of giggles.

"Good old Padfoot, he certainly knows how to kill the mood" James said laughing.

"That was embarrassing, I'm just glad he couldn't see me" James pulled her into his arms and they lay there for a while catching their breath.

xxxxxx

Sirius was intrigued, who was James with and why was it such a secret, he'd never kept quiet about a girl before. He moved into a dark alcove just along from the entrance to the heads common room and decided to wait and see who it was that'd been moaning James' name.

After only five minutes he noticed a familiar dark haired girl coming down the corridor towards him.

"Psst, Sam, over here" he called to her

"Sirius, what are you doing hiding there, I've just come to find Lily, she wasn't at lunch" he pulled her into the alcove with him.

"Lily's in the library, I just caught James shagging some girl, but I couldn't see who, so I'm just waiting here to find out, but now you're here, we can have a little fun of our own while we wait" he kissed her.

xxxxxx

James and Lily got dressed and decided to visit the kitchens to get some food, as they reached the common room door Lily grabbed James' arm and held him back.

"Someone's outside" she whispered, she crept closer and pushed her ear to the door hoping to work out who, she could hear muffled voices.

James joined her and listened too, "It's Sirius" he said, "I know that voice anywhere, and he's with a girl"

"Must be Sam" Lily said.

"Listen, I've got an idea" James told her "Sirius is obviously waiting to see who I was with, let's just let him see, we were going to tell them anyway, let's mess with them a bit".

xxxxxx

The heads common room door opened and James stepped out, closely followed by Lily.

Sam gasped and Sirius clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her further back into the shadows. They watched as Lily kissed James and the two turned in opposite directions and walked away.

When they were both out of earshot Sam pulled Sirius' hand away from her mouth "Lily and James!" She exclaimed, "I knew something was different about her, but I'd never have guessed this", Sirius was standing open mouthed apparently too shocked to speak.

"It was Lily" he eventually uttered "he finally got her to go out with him, no wonder he was angry when I walked in" he grinned "I caught him in bed with the girl of his dreams."

Sam frowned "hang on, I know Lily and she wouldn't do something like this on a whim, this must have been going on for a least a couple of months, why haven't they said anything?"

"James probably thought I'd take the mic, I always do with the girls he dates, but I never would have with Lily, I know she means something to him, none of the others ever did, he should have told me".

Sam had a mischievous glint in her eye "how about we do something to make them tell us" she said.

xxxxxx

James had just left the changing rooms after Quidditch practise the following Wednesday evening when Sam stepped out of a door in front of him and blocked his way "Hi James" she said sweetly, twirling a strand of hair through her fingers "mind if I walk back with you".

"Sure" replied James, noticing she was flirting with him and deciding to play along "how could I refuse the company of a pretty girl like you" he held out his arm for her and she took it.

"You know James, there's another Hogsmeade trip in a couple of weeks, how about taking me?" she asked smiling.

"Tempting." James said "But you are my best mates girlfriend and I wouldn't do that to him"

"Sirius doesn't have to know, I've heard you've got an invisibility cloak, how about the two of us just disappear for a couple of hours?" She batted her eyelashes at him, this was harder that she thought it would be, it just didn't feel right coming onto James like this.

James, who knew exactly what she was doing just shrugged and said "Maybe, I'll think about it" and they went their separate ways at the entrance hall.

xxxxxx

Lily felt a hand touch her shoulder, she was in the Library catching up on some homework, glancing up at the person behind her, she smiled "Sirius".

"You're tense Evans, fancy a massage?" he asked

She closed her eyes and felt his fingers ease away the stress in her neck and let her mind wander to James and the lovely evening they had spent together the night before.

Sirius spoke and it brought her back to the present "Come out with me Lily, I'll show you how to relax".

"Really?" she asked cheekily "and how will you do that?" but she didn't wait for a reply "Ok Sirius, how about you take me to Hogsmeade and you can show me all about relaxing" she frowned slightly "but this has to stay between us. Sam is my friend and I don't want her hurt"

Sirius was a bit taken back at how easy it had been to convince Lily to go out with him and he told Sam this in the common room that evening.

xxxxxx

"They know, we know" she said, "Lily would never agree to go out with you"

"Cheers" Sirius huffed.

"I don't mean it like that" Sam reassured him "she just wouldn't do that to me". She looked thoughtful for a moment then said "they think we'll just back off if they go along with us, so we have to put a bit more pressure on them, they'll have to admit they're together if we push them hard enough"

Sirius smirked "they picked the wrong two people to mess with".

xxxxxx

The night before the Hogsmeade trip Lily and James were on the sofa in their common room chatting.

"They know, we know, they know" James told Lily.

"yeah, I figured as much, we've got to keep it up for one more day, we'll go on these dates with them tomorrow and do everything we can to break them, they'll have to admit they were spying on us before we are finished with them." Lily grinned.

James leaned towards her "it will be so good to be able to kiss you in public", he said as he brought his lips to meet hers.

xxxxxx

James took Sam's hand as they walked into Hogsmeade, careful that no one spotted them. They found a secluded table in the corner of the Three Broomsticks and ordered lunch. Both were flirting with the other outrageously, both convinced the other would crack soon and admit the truth.

…

At another table just around the corner, sat Lily and Sirius, he had taken her hand and entwined his fingers through hers, he was leaning very close to her and she was starting to feel nervous.

…

Sam lightly kissed James on the cheek, she paused, he wasn't backing off.

…

Sirius's lips were only an inch from Lily's, he was moving closer.

"I'm sorry" Lily whispered. "I can't"

She had cracked. Sirius grinned and leaned back in his chair "and why not?" he asked crossing his arms.

"Fine. You win." she almost shouted "I'm in love with James" she smiled at the knowing look on his face.

James and Sam had heard Lily and came over to join them, Sam was looking very pleased with herself as she sat down on Sirius' lap. "I knew it" she was beaming at Lily "I said all along you belonged with James, I knew it, I knew it".

"Why didn't you tell us Prongs?" Sirius asked "and how long has this been going on?"

James explained to both Sirius and Sam how he and Lily had got together at the beginning of September, and all about their keeping it quiet from everyone else, about the fun they had sneaking off, how they knew their secret had been discovered that day and about winding them up by playing along with the game Sirius and Sam had started.

Sirius clapped James on the back "I'm happy for you mate, you should have told me, but then Sam and I wouldn't have seen you squirm when we came onto you, Lily's face when I nearly kissed her was priceless" he laughed and the others joined in.

The four friends sat and enjoyed the rest of their lunch together, as they left the pub, Sam and Sirius said they had some shopping to do and said their goodbyes. James pulled Lily into his arms "what now?" he asked.

"How about another trip to the Shrieking Shack" she winked and he grabbed her hand and ran off up the hill, with Lily giggling and hurrying after him.

The End


End file.
